Recent immigrant - requirements and best practices to be mindful of?

[darth vader 131]

I recently moved to the U.S. We moved after moving and filed AR-11 and I-865 forms for myself and USC spouse respectively. I was a bit surprised to see that how little (10 days) notice you get for reporting change of address and how serious repercussions can be. So, I am now wondering what are other requirements that I and my USC spouse should be mindful of going forwards. I am listing the things (requirements, best practices etc.) that come to mind below, please feel free to add to the list.

 

1. AR-11 to be filed withing 10 days of LPR moving

2. I-865 to be filed via mail within 30 days of USC sponsor moving

3. Going to SSA in-person if SSN does not come in mail within 3-4 weeks of arrival (I went in person and they had to apply for me as I was not in their system)
4. Tracking I-551 green card status on myUSCIS to get an idea of when it is printed and mailed (sign up for USPS informed delivery as well to get a heads up before the mail is delivered)

5. As a LPR, NEVER EVER claim to be a USC on any form etc.

6. As a LPR, do not spend more than six months out of the U.S. in any (calendar?) year unless permitted by DHS/DOS to do so

 

Are there any other best practices and MORE IMPORTANTLY, ****REQUIREMENTS**** that I should be aware of as a LPR such as forms to file etc. (like AR-11) that can have serious consequences if not filed?

 

Thanks!

 

[Lemonslice 4,553]

That one depends on the neighbourhood, but always a good idea to write your name on the mailbox.  Some mailpersons won't deliver official mail (eg. LPR card, USCIS notices), unless the name appears on the mailbox.  

[TBoneTX 43,058]

7.  Do NOT try to vote.

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by TBoneTX

[Chancy 6,233]

1 hour ago, darth vader said:

REQUIREMENTS**** that I should be aware of as a LPR

 

Refer to the USCIS Guide for New Immigrants -- https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/M-618.pdf

 

Quote

As a permanent resident, you must:

• Obey all federal, state, and local laws.
• Pay federal, state, and local income taxes.
• Register with the Selective Service (U.S. armed forces), if you are a male between the ages of 18 and 26.
• Maintain your immigration status.
• Carry proof of your permanent resident status at all times.
• Change your address online or provide it in writing to USCIS within 10 days of each time you move.

 

Not listed in the PDF, but mentioned in the paper brochure that comes with the plastic green card --

• Report foreign bank and financial accounts.  (Google "FBAR".)

Edited May 19, 2022 by Chancy
typo

[Chancy 6,233]

42 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

That one depends on the neighbourhood, but always a good idea to write your name on the mailbox.  Some mailpersons won't deliver official mail (eg. LPR card, USCIS notices), unless the name appears on the mailbox.  

 

Our neighborhood has no names on mailboxes, but I was still paranoid about USPS not delivering my official mail.  I signed up for Informed Delivery, so I'll be listed in USPS records as a resident at our address.

 

USPS Informed Delivery -- https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action

 

[JeanneAdil 6,193]

If the green card is only for 2 years ,  need to do ROC later

 

Please do a timeline

[mam521 1,723]

3 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

If the green card is only for 2 years ,  need to do ROC later

 

Please do a timeline

@darth vader has been asked a million times to do a timeline and never does.  

[.yana 586]

I was late to file AR-11 so many times 😅 And my USC spose never filed one 🥴

[Kai G. Llewellyn 821]

Getting credit in the US with a new SSN can be fun. The most effective thing was to have my husband add me as an authorized user on his credit cards, it effectively copied his credit file over to me and I was then approved for a $5k limit Apple Card around 1.5 months after immigrating. Then we were jointly approved to refi the mortgage on our house under a pretty low interest rate.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[darth vader 131]

I will start a guide on REQUIREMENTS AND BEST PRACTICES FOR NEW IMMIGRANTS using all your comments and inputs soon. Hopefully that will help folks like me. Thank you for all your comments and advice. Please keep commenting when you have something to add to the list!

Edited May 19, 2022 by darth vader

[Sukie 1,439]

Here's more for your list..

 

1.  If you are having to do the I-751 in two years (ROC), START COLLECTING DATA NOW!  Get a plastic bin, or old shoe box, or something, and drop any mail addressed to both of you (holiday greetings, invitations, personal notes, etc.) in it.   Have copies of all rental leases/deeds/mortgages in the box (or scan them electronically). Do the same with an electronic folder on one of your laptops or desktops or have a USB stick that lives in the shoebox, too.  Diligently copy any and all bank statements, insurance papers with both names, credit card statements, yearly tax transcripts to your hard drive/thumb drive.  If you don't keep things electronically, then save the paper copies.  Do this throughout the two years between immigration and ROC, and save yourself the heartache of trying to find back copies of everything at the last minute.

 

2.  Have both parties listed on rental/homeowners/car insurance policies as an authorized claimant.  This has nothing to do with USCIS and everything to do with protecting each other in a terrible situation.  Example:  your house is demolished in a storm, and the person who is listed on the policy dies.  The other spouse cannot file an insurance claim if they are not listed as a party that is AUTHORIZED to file a claim.

 

3.  Make wills and have medical powers of attorney for each of you.  USCIS likes to see this, as it shows that both parties are looking to the future.

 

4.  If you travel, take pictures together with recognizable landmarks in the background.  Keep all boarding passes of airline/train trips.  If you make a hotel reservation, put BOTH names on the reservation. Save your receipts and copies of the reservations.  If you visit family or friends, take pictures together.

 

5.  If you don't have kids, then pets can count!  Have both names on your account at the vet, and print out vet receipts.  We shipped our cat from Australia to the US and used all the paperwork from HER travel as documentation.

 

Best of luck on the rest of your journey!!!

 

Sukie in NY

[Kai G. Llewellyn 821]

One additional thing, we have CCTV in our garage and around the front and back yard. We use the garage as a bit of a 'man cave' for projects and do gardening together. The CCTV has timestamps and with the garden you'll see the changing seasons. So getting photo stills of us basically living a life together over the conditional period should be pretty helpful.

 

Also another vote for USPS informed delivery. Don't delete those notification emails...they've had scans of mail addressed to the both of us, and I'm saving these down as evidence. Letters addressed to the both of you, or at the same address like from the doctor's office, HOA, and govt are pretty good evidence. Others are prescription stubs, me and the hubby use the same pharmacy and our med stubs have our address and date stamp on, so that might help too.

[nastra30 1,981]

Some States and DC (below) require you to have medical insurance or pay a fine. There are exceptions in certain situations but generally they require you by law to have health insurance.

 

Massachusetts

New Jersey

Vermont

California

Rhode Island

District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) 

[beloved_dingo 1,932]

56 minutes ago, Sukie said:

Here's more for your list..

 

1.  If you are having to do the I-751 in two years (ROC), START COLLECTING DATA NOW!  Get a plastic bin, or old shoe box, or something, and drop any mail addressed to both of you (holiday greetings, invitations, personal notes, etc.) in it.   Have copies of all rental leases/deeds/mortgages in the box (or scan them electronically). Do the same with an electronic folder on one of your laptops or desktops or have a USB stick that lives in the shoebox, too.  Diligently copy any and all bank statements, insurance papers with both names, credit card statements, yearly tax transcripts to your hard drive/thumb drive.  If you don't keep things electronically, then save the paper copies.  Do this throughout the two years between immigration and ROC, and save yourself the heartache of trying to find back copies of everything at the last minute.

 

2.  Have both parties listed on rental/homeowners/car insurance policies as an authorized claimant.  This has nothing to do with USCIS and everything to do with protecting each other in a terrible situation.  Example:  your house is demolished in a storm, and the person who is listed on the policy dies.  The other spouse cannot file an insurance claim if they are not listed as a party that is AUTHORIZED to file a claim.

 

3.  Make wills and have medical powers of attorney for each of you.  USCIS likes to see this, as it shows that both parties are looking to the future.

 

4.  If you travel, take pictures together with recognizable landmarks in the background.  Keep all boarding passes of airline/train trips.  If you make a hotel reservation, put BOTH names on the reservation. Save your receipts and copies of the reservations.  If you visit family or friends, take pictures together.

 

5.  If you don't have kids, then pets can count!  Have both names on your account at the vet, and print out vet receipts.  We shipped our cat from Australia to the US and used all the paperwork from HER travel as documentation.

 

Best of luck on the rest of your journey!!!

 

Sukie in NY

I made sure to do this and it really made putting together the evidence for ROC so much easier. And I kept doing it, so we'll have new evidence for naturalization. 

 

Also to add a related note to a couple of things you listed - adding your spouse as an emergency contact everywhere you can (doctor, work, uni, church, whatever) can also be useful evidence and just good practice in general. For instance, I was able to print out my emergency contact info for work and school to send in our ROC packet.

[Vickys_Mom 183]

I'm repeating from above...

 

Don't break the law.  Your goal is to get to your oath ceremony with no violations of the law including traffic and parking tickets.  Minor violations might not be a problem...but why risk it?

 

If you consume alcohol or use recreational drugs, stop and try not to until you're a citizen.  Certainly do things like that at home...never in a bar, a restaurant, or a friend's house.

 

Once you're an American ("'murican", as my wife and I say to each other), you can explore your rights and privileges as a citizen.

 

Regards,

Vicky's Mom